Wright, Dawn (1961–)

Dawn Wright is a professor in the department of geosciences and an adjunct professor in the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University (OSU). Wright is a dedicated researcher, educator, and proponent of geographic concepts and spatial thinking who has made significant contributions in the fields of geographic information science (GIScience) and the coastal and marine sciences, as well as in the broader field of geography.

Wright's research includes issues of application and analysis in the use of geographic information systems (GIS) with oceanographic data, particularly data modeling, spatial analysis, and data conversion; the processing, production, visualization, and interpretation of seafloor maps; marine data modeling, metadata, ontologies, and vocabularies; and cyberinfrastructure, particularly geographic/geospatial semantic Web issues and the related use of tools such as Web portals and Web services. She is highly regarded worldwide for her work in the areas of GIScience and coastal and marine GIS.

Wright received her bachelor's degree in geology from Wheaton College (1983), master's degree in oceanography from Texas A&M (1986), and PhD in physical geography and marine geology from University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) (1994) under the advisement of Raymond Smith. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and has been published in multiple books and peer-reviewed journals. One of her best-known works was as lead author of the 1997 article “Demystifying the Persistent Ambiguity of GIS as ‘Tool’ Versus ‘Science,'” a discussion and analysis of the perception of GIS among geographers in the early 1990s. She also helped develop the ArcGIS Marine Data Model, published in 2007.

Wright teaches introductory and advanced courses in GIS, as well as seminars in geography, GIScience, and marine-related topics, and has served on many graduate student committees at OSU. In addition to research, her work is also largely defined by her service to the broader research community. She currently serves as chair of the University Consortium on Geographic Information Science Research Committee, as an Association of American Geographers National Councillor, on the National Academies Ocean Studies Board, on the editorial boards of several journals, including Transactions in GIS and the International Journal of Geographic Information Science, and as director of the Geographic Information Science Certificate Program at OSU.

Numerous awards have recognized Wright's academic work and her contributions to science and the community. She received a 1995 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award, was awarded a 2004 Fulbright grant to Ireland as a Senior Specialist in Information Technology, was given the Raymond C. Smith Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007 by the UCSB Department of Geography, and was selected as the 2007 U.S. Professor of the Year for the state of Oregon by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, among others. She has given invited seminars, talks, and keynote addresses at diverse conferences such as GeoTech; GIScience; Technology, Entertainment, and Design; and the Environmental Systems Research Institute Education User Conference and has published many invited articles and book chapters.